Minnesota Sales and Excise TaxesMinnesota levies a 6.875% general sales or use tax on consumers, which is above the national median of 5.95%. The average local sales tax rate is an additional 0.31%. Minnesota's state and local governments collect $894 per person in general sales taxes and $705 per person in excise taxes, for a combined figure of $1598, which ranks 18th highest nationally. Minnesota's gasoline tax stands at 28.6¢ (20th highest nationally), while its cigarette tax stands at $2.83 (7th highest nationally.)50-State Table of State and Local General and Selective Sales Tax Collections Per Capita

Tax Freedom Day Arrives on April 29th in Minnesota

Tax Freedom Day is the day when Americans finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year. In 2014, Minnesota taxpayers worked until April 29th (5th latest nationally) to pay their total tax bill. The Tax Freedom Days of neighboring states are: Wisconsin, April 22nd (ranked 13th latest nationally); Iowa, April 13th (ranked 19th earliest nationally); North Dakota, April 25th (ranked 9th latest nationally); and South Dakota, April 4th (ranked 3rd earliest nationally).

Since we released our report on sources of personal income in 2012, I’ve gotten a lot of questions and comments on pension and retirement income, specifically. This category of income is often weirdly overlooked or...